The Buffalo Bills head into their Sunday afternoon, nationally televised clash against the Pittsburgh Steelers facing a virtual must-win situation on the road. A loss would send the Bills to 7-5, into a tie with the Steelers. But Pittsburgh would own the tiebreaker in that case, meaning that the Bills would fall into the No. 8 position in the AFC seedings, putting them out of the playoff positions entirely.
If the Houston Texans, who also own a tiebreaker over Buffalo, were able to defeat the Indianapolis Colts in an early time slot game on Sunday, the Bills would drop into ninth place with a loss, giving the team that entered the season among the favorites to win the Super Bowl a steep uphill climb just to qualify for the postseason at all.
The Bills continue to deal with an onslaught of injuries, with even reigning NFL MVP quarterback Josh Allen turning up on the Buffalo injury report Wednesday with an unspecified elbow injury.
“Just some overall soreness. Soreness in his elbow a little bit there,” coach Sean McDermott said during his media briefing Wednesday, as quoted by SI.com. “He took 12 hits, so it’s overall soreness, and then, the arm, elbow, however you want to say it.”
A ‘Chance’ At Good News For Sunday
The 29-year-old Allen was seen with a pad on his right elbow, but was nonetheless a full participant in practice, despite turning up on the injury report.
McDermott cautiously dispensed some good news â at least potential good news â Wednesday, however, regarding one important player who has missed the Billsâ last two games with a hamstring injury, even though the third-year tight end was held out of practice.
According to McDermott, “there’s a chance” that 2023 first-round draft pick Dalton Kincaid could return to action at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh on Sunday. The team is “taking it one day at a time” with the 26-year-old, according to a report by Alaina Getzenberg, ESPN Bills correspondent.
Expert Says Hamstring Takes 2-3 Weeks to Recover
Sports injury expert Dr. Deepak Chona, who provides analysis for ESPN and other sports media outlets, also said that Kincaid could return, but that if he didn’t, he should be able to come back for the Billsâ Week 14 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
“Average hamstring takes 2-3 weeks out, and (Kincaid has) missed two already. Hasnât yet returned to practice but would be uncommon to miss more than one more game,” Chona wrote Wednesday.
Kincaid in Midst of Best Career Season
If Kincaid can return at full capacity on Sunday, it could be a game-changer for the Bills. In the eight games that Kincaid has played, Allen has posted a completion percentage of 71.7 percent, with 13 touchdowns and just three interceptions.
Without Kincaid for three games, Allen has completed 64.4 percent of his passes with six interceptions, though he has thrown for 13 touchdowns.
After a halting and injury-riddled start to his career, Kincaid was enjoying his best season so far before suffering the hamstring injury. The 448 receiving yards he had racked up in his eight games were the same as he accumulated in the entire 2024 season.
Kincaid has caught four touchdown passes from Allen already, equaling his total over the past two seasons combined.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Bills Get Potentially Game-Changing Good News Ahead of Steelers Clash appeared first on Heavy Sports.